Loyalty Cards

How do they work?

Each time you spend any money in the shop you will earn points from as little as 1 point for every 20p up to 1 point for every £1, each store loyalty scheme will have their very own rules and ways to collect points.  Most shops will also offer different ways to earn more points from buying certain items to vouchers and double or treble points weekends.
>What can to spend your points on?

What can to spend your points on?

Each store or scheme has their own rules on what you can spend your points on.  The Boots scheme allows you to collect points and spend then in store giving you the option to save up and buy something a bit more expensive or simply as money off your shop.  I quiet like to save my points and buy something nice as a treat for myself. Tesco offers you all sorts of different ways to spend your points from monetary vouchers you use towards your shop or you can double up the amount of vouchers and use towards special days out for the family, meals, magazine subscriptions, even holidays and flights.  Additional points can be collected each time you fill up at one of their petrol stations, use their credit card or mobile phone bill, plus on all their different kinds of insurance they offer plus you can earn points with selected gas and electricity suppliers. Nectar points originally started by Barclaycard and then became a joint venture between Sainsbury’s and BT.  Nectar points have become so popular you can now collect points from e-stores (online stores) such as Amazon, Play.com, eBay, iTunes, plus various High Street stores along with their very own credit card.  Like Tesco, there are various different ways to spend your points from specific items to holidays, flights plus many more different options.

How to collect more points

Each Loyalty scheme offer different kind of incentives on how to collect more points to boost your tally.  Tesco has an on-going offer at the moment where they are doubling every point you earn plus every quarter they send a statement of the points you’ve collected and where plus money off vouchers and extra points vouchers.   Other schemes also send you ‘earn extra points’ vouchers to boost your total.

What to watch out for

Whilst all these special offers seem to be a good idea, you should still be careful.  If you can earn extra points on certain items please make sure you actually use the items before you buy.  The amount of points you could earn might equate to 10-20p but cost you £1, so if you don’t use the item are you actually gaining anything?  Also some of these offers and vouchers have expiry dates so if you don’t use you lose which would be a real shame and waste.  If you use multiple supermarkets you might find you don’t collect points very quickly and you may find you have small amounts on each instead of a bigger amount on one.

Most schemes give you online access to your account so you can keep up to date with your total plus any special offers.  The Tesco Clubcard has special offers every now and then where you  can double your points in certain departments, you can either double up and spend in store or go online, taking all the hassle out of your shop. Nectar points also have a fantastic online service allowing you to see how you are doing plus all the stores you can earn additional points.  Most schemes will also send you a paper statement but these are coming far and few between as the preferred option is to do everything on line.

It feels like everything has gone up in price over the past few months and your grocery shop is no exception.  Whilst most Supermarkets would like to say they have a price freeze you should check out the size of the item compared to the size it used to be.  One of our local Supermarkets used to sell filled potato skins and you would get 6 in a pack, whilst all their advertising states prices have stayed the same you only get 4 in a pack now – so is that really keeping prices the same or just using clever marketing hoping the majority of customers won’t notice?  With food being so important in life it seems hard to think you can cut back and make savings, but with out top tips you should be able to bring the cost down each time.

Time of day

This is an old favourite saving tip and believe me it works!  Never go food shopping when you are hungry, everything will seem delicious and you will end up purchasing more food than you really wanted.  Try going after breakfast or lunch and make sure you have eaten before hand.

Make a list

This is something I hate doing as I always forget to put stuff down or find it easier to wonder around, however it is a proven fact that if you carefully write down your list before you leave home or start a few days earlier you will only get the essentials things you really need.  But if you do write a list try and stick to it otherwise you won’t see any savings and end up with a trolley full of stuff you didn’t really need!

Small Trolley or Basket

You might not think this works but it does, especially if you only have a few items to get.  Using a basket keeps you focused on just getting the items you need instead of things you don’t as you only have a small space to store the items plus you have to carry it.  So unless you are built like a brick house and have muscles to show for it then you will avoid the heavier stuff and only get the things you need.

The Reduced Counter

This is usually the most popular shelve in the store with everyone looking for bargains.  Sometimes you will find stuff you need and other times you won’t.  If you see any meats or fish then don’t worry about the BBD (best before date) just make sure the item can be frozen and stick it in the freezer as soon as you get home to use at a later date.  If you are observant enough you could even look at the fresh meat and fish shelves and see when the most popular BBD is and pop back in on that date to grab yourself a bargain.  The other day I noticed all the fresh mince expired on a certain date, there were about 5 shelves of the meat, I happened to be in the store a few days later and thought I would have a look at the reduced counter and there were loads of packs of mince all at reduced price.  Whilst I didn’t really need any for the next few days I still bought a few packs and stuck them in the freezer – perfect for spaghetti bolognaise, meatballs, chilli con carnie, cottage pie plus many other meals.  The only things I am really skeptical about are the items from the counters, as you can’t really see what you are buying.  They might say fresh fillet steak at half price but you don’t know how much fat or what kinda cut it is so would verge on the edge of caution.  It might be a saving at the time but a huge disappointment when you get home!

Special Offers & Vouchers

If you’re looking for offer codes why not try a Tesco eCoupon or a Asda promotional code, we also offer Sainsburys promotional codes that offer online savings only.  Whilst these special offers seem too good to be true and you feel you should take advantage of them please be careful. Some will be good offers whilst others just a marketing ploy to make you spend more.  The best ones are Buy One Get One Free or BOGOF to those in the trade.  These will only be special offers and give you a saving if you actually needed the item and not if you just buying because of the offer.  Being a bit of a supermarket shopper you get used to seeing the special deals and my local supermarket has great offers that seem to come around very quickly so I don’t buy certain items unless they are on special offer.  I only get the baby wipes when they are buy 1 and get 2 free, for me this is a huge saving with the amount we get through and works out cheaper than most of the store brands.  Cheese is also a good one as it has a long sell by date so it doesn’t matter if you have a few packs in your fridge, unless you don’t eat much cheese and will be a waste. Don’t but things you don’t usually have on special offer if they have a short shelf life, as you will end up throwing a lot out at the end of the week. Plus look at the size of family or the amount of people the shop is for, if you are on your own is it really worth buying a large pack of potatoes because you get another free or money off?  Would you really use them or simply buy them due to the offer and end up throwing away.  Have a good think before taking advantage of special offers, as they might not give you a saving at all in the long run!

Brands

Whilst most people like buying branded items, it’s worth having a look at the stores own brand and also the stores own budget brand especially if you are using as ingredients in a recipe etc.  There is a rumor out there that the stores own brand is actually made by the leading brands, they slightly adjust the recipe and use cheaper ingredients but overall they taste the same.  Most people wouldn’t know they difference if they did a blindfolded test despite their protests before hand! The stores own brand is usually cheaper and still of very good quality, however there are some you can tell aren’t as good but that’s down to personal choice.  The budget brands are also just as good so why not try some out as your might be pleasantly surprised.  There is a stigma that seems to go with the blue strip or similar brands but to be honest why pay over the odds for something when you can get it less than half price.

Getting Something Back

I am very much one for getting something back from the Supermarkets you use on a regular basis, either by money back in terms of vouchers or discounts vouchers for the family or even points to save up for items around the home or for the family.  Most big shops offer some form of a loyalty scheme so make sure you sign up to the ones closet to you, and why not get more than one stores card.  Most offer points on petrol and they usually offer lower prices and special deals making filling up a little bit easier.  Each store has their own rules one what you can get in return, I use Tesco for food and petrol and like to save my vouchers for either a big shop or recently they have had special offers on their points scheme where you can get double the amount for your vouchers for certain departments, ideal if you need some bigger and more expensive items around the home or garden.  They also send vouchers and money offer coupons from time to time plus you usually get a few more money saving vouchers on fuel or store items when you spend over a certain amount on your shop.

Budget Shops

Every town and city has seen an increase of budget shops from Poundland, QD to Wilkinson’s who are more of your hardware (ish) kind of shops, you won’t get food in either but you will get everything else and usually at a much lower price.  There has also been an increase in shops like Lidel and Aldi where you can get all your groceries and cleaning, toiletries basically everything you could in your local Supermarket. You might not recognize the brands as they are usually shipped in from Europe at a much lower cost than the UK’s top brands.  If you are stuck in your ways it is worth trying somewhere else every now and then as you might be pleasantly surprised not only at the quality of food but how much the shop costs.

Shopping Online

If you have access to the internet then checkout shopping online.  Most Supermarkets offer an online service where you order what you want and then get it delivered to your door.  Recently stores have listened to their customers and now offer a click and collect service where you order on line and go to a pickup point at a prearranged time to collect your shopping, this service is free, saving you a delivery charge.  Once you add your details online and if you have a loyalty your favourite or frequently purchased items should automatically appear, making your selection easier.  Shopping online has a host of benefits with the main one being you only buy what you need and aren’t tempted to add more as you aren’t wandering round the store.  Plus it tally’s up your shop so you know how much you are spending as you go along instead of finding out when you get to the till.  Just be care of loose items as I remember a friend saying she only wanted 5 bananas and put 5 in the quantity not realizing the had asked for 5Kg’s of bananas, she had a bit of a shock when they turned up with her delivery.  All the special offers in store apply online so you aren’t missing out.

Food shopping shouldn’t be too much of a chore and cost you a fortune, even if you take just a couple of these tips you will see yourself saving money.

Written By: Nicola Sargent